After much investigation we have decided to take a Cruisewest inner passage cruise next June. Can we find prices lower than their posted rates? How early must we book? Since the cruise only travels between Juneau and Ketchikan, does it matter if we go north or southbound? Thanks
Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Don't know about Cruisewest, but you can do much better than posted rates (on other cruise lines) by going to cruisedirect.com We just booked a 7 day Alaskan cruise for next June for $553.(plus port charges)

I hear CruiseWest is awesome. I would love to do Alaska on a small ship some time (have only done bigger ships). I saw one of their ships in Ketchikan this summer.

Not sure how their pricing works either.

Definitely post a review when you return.

We just returned yesterday (with a two night stay in Seattle) from a CruiseWest inner passage tour on the Spirit of Columbia. It was fantastic and I think a small ship is the only way to go. We had 66 passengers...it is a very small ship. We loved our little boat but I think I would choose the Spirit of Endeavour next time as it is much larger but still has a maximum of 102 guests.

The cost up front seems high but so many excursions are included, at least one in every port. We liked being able to go where the mega ships can't go.

We did the land tour starting in Fairbanks. We saw all of the "Big 5" animals in Denali; my favorite was the pack of wolves. The train ride to Talkeetna was beautiful with all the fall foliage.

I may get around to writing a report but you may email me if you wish: [email protected]

You won't be sorry if you choose CruiseWest. Be sure to see if you are eligible for shipboard credits. We had $400 in credits. That's a lot of partying! We also used some of it for added excursions.

Hello,

I am a travel agent and I always encourage my clients and customers to basically disregard the posted and/or brochure rates in a cruise line's brochure. Those are almost always the highest possible rates, like the rack rates of a hotel. A cruise travel agent will have access to the best specials and possibly have bulk space on any given cruise. Very, very rarely does a guest pay those high rates when working with a travel consultant, specializing in cruises.

Best Regards,
Julia Elzie
Cruising Co Etc

SS:

It never hurts to shop around. You can either visit the sites of top agencies individually (Best Price Cruises, Cruise411, Cruise.com, etc.) or use CruiseCompete.com--put in one quote request and get multiple competing quotes back.

Cheers!